Curious Leaded Shades & Oscar Bach

For some time now, there have appeared on the market bronze bases by Oscar Bach carrying very distinctive leaded shades constructed in the style of conventional mosaics. While it is acknowledged by the Friends Of Oscar Bach that there has yet to appear any supporting documentation indicating that Bach's studio fabricated leaded glass shades for their bases (their lamp shades were typically made of other materials including Mica, and hand chased metals, often pierced) it is curious to see that these distinctive shades always appear to be accompanied by Bach's beautiful bases.

While we are only talking about a small number of lamps, this page collects examples together for closer examination and encourage feedback. As with certain other makers of the period, including Morgan and Bigelow & Kennard, examples have suggested the likelihood of some cooperative arrangement existing between shade makers and base providers.

Both Morgan and Bigelow made their own great bases yet examples tied to other specific makers continue to pique our curiosity. In the case of John Morgan & Sons, examples of their small Grape shades have appeared with bases made by Reed & Barton. In the case of Boston maker Bigelow & Kennard, a small number of examples of their shades have appeared supported by bases made by H. G. Cleaveland, a small metalworking studio also located in Boston. Amongst several potential answers, one includes the possibility that these metal working companies supplied shade makers in a pinch, when they were unable to fulfill their own demand in-house.

In the case of Oscar Bach, it is feasible and indeed likely that they had no interest in servicing a small number of orders for leaded shades that came their way , this was not after all, their core business, so Bach simply outsourced the fabrication to another provider. Given the style of each shade, they are very distinctive, true mosaic like and relatively complex. They appear to be somewhat consistent with styles from the Art Deco Period. The case for outsourcing is even more strengthened as the era of complex leaded shade making effectively ended 10 years earlier.